I was surfing around and found the average to be about 500 for what I’ve been doing.
Unfortunately, one elliptical has me at 20 calories burned for a 30 minute workout and another has 1500 for a 30 minute workout.
I’ll just be ignoring that screen.
Hey, if it makes you feel better or motivates you more, just try to beat your “score” on the 1500+ machine, rather than look at it as an accurate number. I’ve done that before!
I am using this elliptical machine at the gym. It has 20 levels of resistance, and I have built my workouts up to level 13 for the 50 minute workout, and then levels 12, 11, 10, 9, & 8 for the cool down period of 5 minutes, backpedalling. I set the machine at 260 lbs. (because of the additional weight of clothes and shoes), 50 minutes (+5 min. cool down), and at level 13 resistance. I keep my RPMs in the 70-75 range throughout the 50 minutes and about 60 RPMs in the cool down. My target heart rate should be 142 ((220-43)*80 percent), but I usually push it to 85% (150) and slow down at 90% (159). If you saw me at the gym, I would be the guy soaked in sweat 20 minutes into the workout and maintained that soakiness for another 35, smelling like stinky onions and garlic. I always switch back to my work shirt afterwards because of this. Weight does factor in the calories/minute burn; I have noticed going from 310 down to 255 that I have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories in the same amount of time, while bumping up the resistance. It would be much harder for someone who is 150 pounds to do that because there isn’t as much mass for your muscles to move, requiring less calories. I believe I posted in a previous month about this, but I can’t find it now; maybe not in Khadaji’s threads.
As for 50 cal/minute…I am quite skeptical of that too. I wonder if I tried one minute, at level 20 as hard as I physically can just to see where I peak at. Maybe 25 c/m? Definitely not more than 30 c/m.
Time for me to go hop on my elliptical & watch Heroes! I have it set up in front of my TV, and my new rule is: no sitting on the couch being a potato. If I’m going to kill my brain cells, I have to give my other cells a workout.
If only I could work out a way to use the computer while exercising, I could set the same rule for reading & posting to the SDMB, and I’d look like Arnold Schwarzenegger (except for being younger and handsomer) within a few months!
Just a weekly check-in.
I am down 4 pounds, now at 276, since last Thursday. Have been on the stationary bike every day sine 1/3.
I got a new scale, not the Tanita as recommended, because I couldn’t find one. I got a Taylor instead. At lease it gives me the same weight when I get on it twice in 30 seconds.
Congratulations to all of the dopers for a fantastic job starting out the new year.
Weighed in this morning, and was up .2 pounds from last week.
I had a good week on the exercise front, though. I rode my exercise bike five times this week, and I’m gradually increasing my duration.
206 lbs this morning, I am making no progress. I think I turned the corner though, I hit a high of 208 after the depressing **Giant ** defeat on Sunday.
I might join a gym. It is already half way through January and I still have no winter exercise program.
Jim
Not so good this week. I gained 3.6 pounds. Overconfidence from my 9 pounds lost last week caused me to ignore my hungry/satisfied/full/uncomfortable signals. I didn’t actually eat bad foods, but I had a LOT of the allowed ones.
Just checking in here. I lost another 2.4 lbs, bringing my six week total to 28 lbs lost. Jayjay and I measured our walking circuit. 2 miles. 
. I think he was stunned that we had been doing that much walking.
I thought I’d check in. I was unable to weigh myself for the past couple of days because the batteries in my scale finally died (it’s been reading low battery for months). Yesterday I found the batteries and today I weighed in at 177. That’s 2.5 down from last week. 
I’m happy with that.
Anyway, I’ve set myself a walking goal of 12000 steps per day which I’ve been exceeding no problem when I take the extended walk in the morning.
Back up to 182 or so the last time I weighed a couple days ago but I’m not too surprised. The low of 179 from my last post was taken in the afternoon after not having had anything since the night before.
138 lbs this morning, and I’m less unsatisfied with smaller portions. They still look tiny, but I’m starting to remember how good it feels to be not hungry without being stuffed.
Another year, time to lose that weight. Along with losing weight, I need to save money, and one of the easiest places I’ve found to cut money in the budget is in the groceries. So I’m buying and eating lots of vegetables, brown rice, some chicken, the occasional soy burger, sometimes a couple eggs, fruit, some light salad dressing for the spinach salads, and cereal for breakfast. I’m also getting exercise where I can, but not as much as I probably should. (I’m thinking of pulling out the DDR mat for 30 mins or so before I head to the lab in the mornings. Be a better way of waking up than the coffee.) I’ve cut out the alcohol (not that I drank that much to begin with) and all sodas (I always drink diet sodas to begin with but it also helps with the whole saving money thing) and am trying to wean myself off caffeine (see the soda.)
Anyway, what I’m afraid of is that I’m not eating enough. I’m a very big guy and various calculators (which I’m not sure I really trust) say that on average I’m burning somewhere between 3000-4000 calories a day right now. Anyway, I originally was shooting to eat about 1600 a day, although recently it’s been oscillating between closer to 1200-1400. I’m not getting very hungry between meals, and I am grabbing a piece of fruit if I do get kinda hungry. What I’m afraid of is that this deficit is too big and that I should start eating more, maybe even up 2000 calories a day. I don’t believe what the scale has told me this first week, because isn’t the first loss mostly water weight? I know that about 2 pounds per week is a safe goal, but considering that my current calorie deficit could be as much as 4 pounds a week, I’m a little worried that it could be unhealthy and/or counterproductive.
I actually do think the school has a nutritionist, but I don’t know where I’d find the time to go and ask (or, for that matter, exactly how to go to the student health center.) I qualify as a full-time grad student, but there’s still an office visit fee and I have no idea how much it is. I’d rather take my chances with my bathroom scale and a bunch of random strangers on the internet. I’m not really looking for all that much advice here, more of a gut check on my numbers.
I’ve been avoiding posting to this months thread.
Report Card:
May: 295? -> 279 (-16)
June: 279 -> 260 (-19)
July: 260 -> 248 (-12)
August: 248 -> 233 (-15)
September: 233 -> 227 (-6)
October: 227 -> 221 (-6)
November: 221 -> 218 (-3)
December: 218 -> 230 (+12)
12 pounds!?! How could anyone gain 12 pounds in one month. That’s ~42,000 excess calories.
I believe part of this was that I’ve been letting myself run continually dehydrated over the last few months. Without the training intensity, I re-established a more balanced and healthy hydration level. As I intensify training in the new year, I’m doing more to keep myself hydrated. This may appear to slow down weight loss since I’ll be comparing slightly dehydrated and fully hydrated results.
That may explain 3 or 4 pounds, the rest is that I let myself go. I did hardly any bike rides, there were Christmas cookies and dried fruit and all sorts of assorted goodies in the break room at work and I figured a cookie or two couldn’t hurt too bad. If only it was just a cookie or two…
And since I knew that I was off the wagon, I made things worse by avoiding my regular weigh-ins. I was thinking that sure I’d slipped, but it was the holidays so celebrate now and I could take care of the two or three pounds in the new year. Had I been doing my weigh ins, I would have known sooner that I was seriously off course.
My Jan 1st weigh in was a big surprise, a wake up call of sorts. The next wake up call was on a ride up Mt Hamilton later that day. I almost made it to the top. This would have been an accomplishment, had it not been the fact that I did make it to the top on Thanksgiving just 6 weeks before.
Since then, I’ve been riding more regularly. I’ve been doing an hour on our stationary bike each day, and I’ve committed myself to do the Kings Mountain loop every Tuesday and Thursday, rain or shine — Even when it’s 30 degF as it was last Thursday. On Friday, I received the indoor trainer I ordered (it’s a device where you mount your “real” bike so the rear wheel drives a resistance unit), which will replace the stationary bike sessions. I also got a handful of Spinervals DVD’s to focus my indoor training sessions.
So two weeks in, I’m down to 224.5, I’d like to be back down at 220 by the end of the month. Somehow, those cookies don’t seem worth it any more.
I’m all about the oatmeal. But because I’m notoriously short of time in the morning, I do the instant. I add in some dried cranberries and walnuts (maybe 1/8 of a cup, but I doubt it’s even that much). Keeps me going in the morning and is tasty. I actually look forward to my morning oatmeal.
I’m down at 208, which is less than I thought I should have been at, but I’m dealing with some bloating at the moment, but I’m working out 6 days a week, and I’m feeling lots better.
Weight watchers on campus is supposed to start Wednesday. I’m having to do some serious thinking about whether I’m going to participate in that (its $180 for the semester, which is a bit pricey for me at the moment) or go with the online version. I’m going to go talk to them - this Wednesday is an informational meeting, so I’ll see what I think about the person who’s leading it and then decide if I can swing the cost.
1/1/07: 330
1/8/07: 327.5
1/15/07: 323.7
(All but 1/1 are exponentially weighted moving averages.)
Onward and downward!
I suspect that’s a lot cheaper than you would get at the meetings outside of campus. Although, they seem to be running a free registration lately.
IMHO - and mind you, I hate people so I hated meetings - go to a regular meeting and pay the weekly fee. If you hate it, you’ve still got the slider and can do it on your own with the Week 1 book they give you, and perhaps you can get their companion books ($20 for both).
OK, I’m posting my four week progress today, starting with my weekly loss:
Last week: 283.8
This week: 281.6
Weekly loss: 2.2 pounds
Beginning weight (12/18/06): 301.0
Today’s weight: 281.6
Total month’s loss: 19.4 pounds
I’m almost 1/8 of the way to my goal (140)! Yay!!!
sigh
I’m in. Again.
I joined the gym for the first time in March 2005. Started at 216, and over the course of the next year or so I sloooowly got down to about 190. Yay me! But life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.
I have no legitimate excuse, but the upshot is that I’m back to 210, back into my “fat jeans,” etc. I knew I needed to get back into the groove. The kicker was seeing the candid pictures from my sister’s wedding this past weekend. Ugh. And my 40th birthday is coming up.
So I paid up for 3 months of gym membership today (will re-up for a full year when I have the scratch), and spent an hour doing cardio. I figure I’ll do cardio for a week or so while I just get into the habit, and then start back with my strength training and see how far I’ve slipped there. Already started adjusting my eating habits again (I follow the “Strong Women Stay Slim” food plan; the book’s exercise plan is actually too wimpy for me). I’m still happy with keeping bottled water in the fridge in lieu of soda, and I’ve promised myself that I’ll enjoy moderate restaurant meals in exchange for being “good” at home, and not torture myself by ordering just salads when we go out. Bought fresh veggies, chicken breasts, etc., on Sunday. The good thing about working at home is having free access to the kitchen. Of course, the BAD thing about working at home is having free access to the kitchen. 
Yeah I know, we say this all the time, but I would really like this to be the time the weight comes off and stays off. I don’t want to be my mother in 20 years. I know that it’s good to lose about a pound or two a week, but I’d like to beat that just a little bit. Other people seem to be able to lose more than 25 pounds in a whole year! This year I will make one additional change: not letting the gym membership lapse in the summer time. “I’ll just mow the lawn (we have a big lawn)”: yeah, that didn’t work.
Have we abandoned the old notation? I’ll use it here just for myself.
(starting weight / current weight / goal weight)
210 / 210 / 150
Lost my Christmas weight, back below my “red line” of 130…weighed 128 on Sunday.
Losing weight is a battle, keeping it off is the war!